The Balloon Museum opened its first permanent location on August 7th at the Tin Building at South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan. Known for its inflatable structures and immersive sensory spaces, the Balloon Museum has previously held temporary exhibitions in Paris and London, drawing millions of visitors.
The Balloon Museum inaugurates its New York home with “Daydream—Air Becomes Art,” an exhibition with new work by Marina Abramović alongside pieces by Martin Creed, Karina Smigla-Bobinski, Alex Schweder, Thom Kubli, Boris Acket, Hyperstudio, and Rub Kandy, among others.
Abramović’s Snowy/Windy/Spring on Planet Z marks her first work to use air as a primary medium, following an artistic career built on duration, endurance, and viewer participation. “I’ve never done anything like this in my life. But if you give me an assignment then I’ll try to see what I can do with it,” Abramović said of her commission for the museum, in an interview with the Guardian.
Meanwhile, Creed’s Work No. 3883: Half the air in a given space fills part of a gallery with blue balloons, while Smigla-Bobinski’s ADA consists of a large floating sphere studded with charcoal that visitors push around the room, leaving marks across the walls as it drifts. Outside the museum, Kandy’s oversized, googly-eyed GINJOS have already begun appearing around the Seaport.
“Balloon Museum was founded on the idea that air and inflatables could become a powerful contemporary language,” said Balloon Museum president and Lux Entertainment CEO Roberto Fantauzzi in a statement. “Establishing a permanent home in New York is an extraordinary milestone for our organization and a reflection of how far this vision has grown.”
Tickets for “Daydream” are available at peak and off-peak rates, with child pricing and family bundles offered.
